“Hat Monkey” – A uniquely fun app

As an avid fan of Chris Haughton’s illustration and stories for children, I’m thrilled to see how Chris takes his skills to the next level in a new platform with the Hat Monkey app. No it’s not a rendition of Chris’ previous picture books. In fact, he chose not to do that. Different platforms require different contents, and Chris knows the suspense and pantomime effect that makes his previous books great would not work in an app. Readers, especially children, would tap frantically all over the screen to see what kind of ‘hidden’ interactions there are, instead of imagining and immersing in the narrative flow.

Luckily we don’t need to do that. What we get to do is much, much better: playing and connecting to a delightful monkey. This little guy bears the signature character design of Chris Haughton: bold colour palettes and unrefined contours. Combined with the joyful animation, Hat Monkey is probably the cutest digital pet on earth.

Throughout the app, there are 9 scenes or situations that you can play with Hat Monkey. The you-action and monkey-reaction chain is incredibly smooth and intuitive. The texting and calling scenes with Hat Monkey are exceptionally real and amusing. I even forgot this was an app and there was some sort of mechanism behind this.

Hat Monkey with its cute sounds and movements is truly an enjoyable companion. This blend of excellent aesthetics, meaningful interactions and a great character who readers can identify with is an app you don’t want to miss, especially if you have one or a few little people around.